Draymond Green is getting slightly more than a slap on the wrist for his neck-scissor move on Rudy Gobert.
The NBA has decided to suspend the Golden State Warriors forward Green for five games over his chokehold on Gobert during Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Green will now miss games against Oklahoma City (twice), Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio before becoming eligible to return on Nov. 28 against Sacramento.
As a result of the suspension, Green will lose $769,970, Wojnarowski adds. Gobert himself as well as Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels, the other combatants in the incident, were also fined $25,000 each.
The choking incident occurred in the opening minutes of Minnesota’s eventual 104-101 victory (see the video here). Green, who has had a long-running feud with Gobert, seemed to go out of his way to escalate things and kept a strong grasp for several seconds around the neck of Gobert, who only looked to be trying to diffuse the situation. Gobert was able to get the last laugh though as he savagely roasted Green after getting the win.
Public opinion is likely to be split on the length of Green’s suspension. He is a notorious repeat offender who has already been suspended multiple times over violent outbursts against opponents (including just last postseason). But five games is still a longer suspension than usual by the NBA for non-criminal or drug-related incidents, and Green will also be down a decent chunk of change as a result.
